Escape Quotes

“No one was more surprised than I to realize that my newfound freedom had been purchased by giving up on eternity and settling for hell.”
― Carolyn Jessop, Escape

“How could any woman endure a life of misery with such a cheap promise of appreciation after her death?”
― Carolyn Jessop, Escape

“Warren Jeffs is both a problem and the symptom of a problem. The FLDS has created a lot of Warrens, men who are intoxicated with their own power, believing they need at least three wives to get into heaven and wanting to dominate women and children. Generation after generation of believers have been conditioned to equate obedience with salvation. People who have never been taught of allowed to think for themselves don't suddenly change. Change it too frightening. ”
― Carolyn Jessop, Escape

“In a cult, you have two identities: your cult identity and your authentic self. Most of the time I operated from my cult identity, which was pliant, submissive and obedient. But when I was pushed to the point where it felt like my survival was at stake, my authentic self came to the fore.”
― Carolyn Jessop, Escape

“His words were frightening enough, but the blind obedience of people I had known all my life was even more disturbing. They had lost any capacity to think for themselves.”
― Carolyn Jessop, Escape: A Memoir

“Unmitigated joy of any kind was diminishing from our lives. Warren Jeffs had our community in a chokehold. I noticed that people's faces now seemed devoid of expression. It was as if they were afraid even to look like they might be thinking. ”
― Carolyn Jessop, Escape

“Hell was a better option for me than anything that existed on earth.”
― Carolyn Jessop, Escape

“He always found a way to stoke the fires of his fanaticism for a community of his brainwashed believers whose faith in him continues.”
― Carolyn Jessop, Escape

“The bottom line was that Warren was gaining complete control over our lives; he could make the rules but also manipulate them to his advantage.”
― Carolyn Jessop, Escape: A Memoir

“I sat quietly on the opposite side of the room. I was in a wedding dress at somebody else’s birthday party while my husband was being congratulated.”
― Carolyn Jessop, Escape: A Memoir

“Most families controlled their children with scripture and a whip. This philosophy extended into the classrooms, too.”
― Carolyn Jessop, Escape: A Memoir

“I didn’t question my parents’ behavior; it was a fact of life for me. Violence toward children was incorporated into our belief system, and it was very common in the community to see a mother slap one of her children, sometimes very hard.”
― Carolyn Jessop, Escape: A Memoir

“The principle of celestial marriage is what defines the FLDS faith. A man must have multiple wives if he expects to do well in heaven, where he can eventually become a god and wind up with his own planet.”
― Carolyn Jessop, Escape: A Memoir

“that Faunita couldn’t see or hear for three days. In the FLDS culture, a man’s wife is his property and he can do whatever he wants to do to her. If a woman complains about violence or abuse, everyone turns on her. The assumption is that she’s disobedient. It’s always her fault. It’s a huge disgrace if your husband beats you. So women rarely speak about abuse because once they do, they’re considered rebellious.”
― Carolyn Jessop, Escape: A Memoir